A three-year-old waits patiently with his dad in a basement at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church Nov. 9.

WASHINGTON (CNS)—Two weeks before the Thanksgiving Day feast, Gwen Stroy was counting her blessings.

"We usually don't have this much chicken," she said, leaning over a box of frozen poultry. "Everyone will get chicken today!"

Stroy coordinates the food pantry at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic
Church in northeast Washington. She was excited that there was healthy
protein going into each box and bag on this day.

The chicken, plus other meats, fresh vegetables and canned items will be
handed out to 45 people who arrived for the parish's weekly food
distribution.

They are not strangers. They are neighbors in need. A couple of the volunteers are themselves recipients of the charity.

Delano Kittrell, a senior who recently lost some of his Social Security
benefits, was taking home two bags full of food. After his monthly bills
are paid, he said, he has little money left for groceries.

Before coming to the pantry, "I didn't have enough food to get (me) through the month," he told Catholic News Service.

In a basement room at the church, 3-year-old Robert Wells and his dad, Kenneth, were among those waiting patiently for food.

According to a 2010 study by Feeding America, more than 5.7 million
Americans seek emergency food assistance each week. Hunger is growing at
an "alarming rate," said a report accompanying the study's release.

St. Anthony's pantry volunteers know it's true.

Over the past year or so, the number of people looking to the parish for
food has more than doubled, from 15-20 people up to 50 each week, Stroy
said.

The need is increasing. Yet with a limited budget for the pantry, Stroy
and her volunteers can only provide enough food to each recipient for
four to five meals. "That's all we can do," she said.

As they wrapped up their Wednesday distribution, the parishioners talked
about the complete turkey meals they would give away in a couple of
weeks.

"It's about 1,000 pounds of food," said one volunteer. "No," chimed in another, "Try, like 2 to 3,000 pounds."

One thing is certain; none of it ever goes to waste.

"What happens to the leftovers?" inquired a visitor.

"There are no leftovers," Stroy replied. "We never have any leftovers."